13/10/10…..Hard-hitting video aimed at driving instructors

OXFORSHIRE County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service is appealing for the county’s Approved Driving Instructors to encourage their students to come to an innovative show aimed at reducing the number of road crashes involving young people.

Safe Drive Stay Alive, (SDSA), is a theatre education project to make teenagers more aware of the risks they face on the road. The presentation gives them the opportunity to experience what it would be like to be involved in a crash, hear some of the causes and consequences, and reflect on how their behaviour can prevent an accident, whether they are a driver or a passenger.

Lack of knowledge

With road crashes being the major cause of death to young people, the campaign aims to reach teenagers in an emotive and hard-hitting way.

Last year nearly 900 people aged 16 to 18 were injured on Thames Valley roads and an average of four young people per week were killed or seriously injured. Young drivers are much more likely to be involved in a crash, often due to inexperience and a lack of knowledge of the risks. Around 1 in 4 deaths on the road is aged 17-24

How does SDSA help?

The presentation ultimately strives to reduce these figures, and involves a film of a crash in the local area which has been specially prepared with roads and hospitals familiar to local students. Emergency services and people who have suffered from a crash come to the stage to speak to the audience about their experiences and explain how seeing such trauma affects them personally.

Crews from Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service will be taking part in the production. Nathan Croxford – retained firefighter based at Burford,, Kirsty Vincent – an instructor at the fire cadet unit at Banbury, and Jo Cleary – retained firefighter based at Didcot and area admin assistant for the South and Vale area, will all be on hand to share their own experiences.

Get involved

Safe Drive Stay Alive will take place on Monday, November 15 and Tuesday, November 16, at The Kings Centre, Osney Mead, Oxford. While Tuesday is fully booked, there are still places available on Monday. There are two shows a day, the first at 10.30am, and the second at 1pm. The performance is expected to last just over one hour.

David Etheridge, Chief Fire Officer, Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service, said: I’m appealing to all Oxfordshire Approved Driving Instructors to encourage your students to come to Safe Drive Stay Alive. The experience could save their life or the life of their friends and reduce the number of accidents involving young people.”

How to book

To book visit www.safedrive.org or call Mandy Rigault, Senior Road Safety Officer, on 01865 343352 or 07916 160582.

Councillor Judith Heathcoat, Oxfordshire County Council?s Cabinet Member for Safer and Stronger Communities, said: “Whilst our emergency services do a magnificent job of coping with the results of mistakes on the road, they are always devastated by the tragedy of young lives lost. Approved Driving Instructors are a crucial front line part of Road Safety and their support to get more young people to see Safe Drive Stay Alive is much appreciated.”

More information on SDSA

SDSA is organised across the Thames Valley by Thames Valley Police, with help from Oxfordshire’s Road Safety Team and Fire and Rescue Services, other local councils and the Thames Valley Safer Roads Partnership, who have been working for years to reduce the number of young people dying on the roads. The campaign is funded by Thames Valley Police.